any believe that the violins created by Antonio Stradivari in the 17th and 18th centuries will never be excelled. So it is with the King of Instruments, the pipe organ. During that same period, organs were built whose sound and construction may never be surpassed.
Some of today's most respected organbuilders are seeking to bring those timeless sounds and superb mechanisms to modern listeners and players. In Ooltewah, Tennessee, Bruce Fowkes and Ralph Richards have brought together a group of talented American and European craftsmen to build organs according to the principles of historic northern European instruments.
Ooltewah, a small town whose Cherokee name translates as Owl's Nest, is nestled at the base of the Appalachians. Nearby Collegedale, Tennessee is home to five tracker organs and draws a continuous string of organists from around the world. This creates a perfect environment for members of the company to discuss historic organs, new ideas in organbuilding and how best to make our organs function as well as the antique instruments and fill the needs of our churches and universities.
In the nineteen years since our founding in 1988, we have built organs varying in size from 3 stops to 49 stops on 1, 2 and 3 manuals. The physical layouts and designs, while informed by time-honored architectural principles are intended to complement and enhance the spaces that they occupy. Likewise, the stoplist and voicing of each is carefully thought out and executed to produce a musical result worthy of the title King of Instruments.
